Nothing to write home about

Myfanwy Collins put me on to Roxanna Robinson. I’d never heard of her, but she said something interesting about short story and novel writing in an interview and to cut a long story short, I bought one of her books.

I chose Sweetwater. I don’t remember choosing it because the herione works for an environmental NGO, but she does, just like me.

Sweetwater is the story of Isabel, getting over the death of her first husband, when she meets Paul who she falls into a marriage with because she doesn’t want to be on her own. It opens 7 months after their marriage, at Sweetwater lodge, the summer home of Paul’s family, where Isabel meets Paul’s parents and his brother Whitney.

As the novel unfolds, in a combination of flashback threaded in with the lively family holiday at the lodge, it turns out that nothing is as it first appeared. Not Isabel’s idyllic first marriage, her relationship with Paul, Paul’s relationship with Whit, or Whit’s failure to get married and settle down.

As the rain gives way to heat, Isabel has to make a choice between the steady and unexciting Paul or the unpredictable and unknown Whit.

It’s a beautifully crafted novel. Robinson manages to weave in the various strands with skill, managing a complex story about loss, love and rivalry, against an environmental backdrop that informs without ever preaching.

After reading Sweetwater, I can’t help wondering why Roxana Robinson isn’t an incredibly famous novelist.

Visit Roxana’s website